A last second schedule change means Kent State men’s basketball will now be facing rival University of Akron for their Mid-American Conference opener. 

Kent was scheduled to play Eastern Michigan on Saturday, but the MAC issued a release Thursday afternoon stating that the game had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The release also announced the rescheduled Kent-Akron game. 

This is the third time Kent State has had a conference game postponed due to the pandemic, and they are now the only team in the MAC yet to have played a conference game. In mid-December, the Flashes were forced to pause practices and games due to COVID-19 issues. The team returned to practice on Wednesday. 

Tip-off for the Kent-Akron game is 7 p.m on Friday. It will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.

Contact Gina Butkovich at [email protected].